


Thriving in Low Light

by allimarie_xf



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 11:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17303984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allimarie_xf/pseuds/allimarie_xf
Summary: I know who you are. You're Mr. Queen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Oliver stepped up to the desk, waiting for the receptionist to notice him.

He looked around. The office was impressive. Not large, but clean and welcoming with a perfect balance of comfortable, modern furniture and abundant greenery.

The woman behind the desk finally looked up from her computer, and when she saw him her eyes and mouth went wide.

Oliver smiled. “Hi. I have an 11:00 appointment. My name is Thomas Robertson…?”

The receptionist nodded slowly, clearly trying to square what she thought she knew about the man in front of her with the words coming out of his mouth. Oliver smiled more deeply, hoping to put the woman at ease.

It didn’t seem to help. Rather than respond to him in words, she picked up the telephone and pressed the intercom, maintaining slightly stunned eye contact as she delivered her message to the person on the other end of the line. Still, Oliver had to give her props; her voice was nothing but steady and professional. “Hi. Your 11:00 appointment is here...okay, I’ll send him in.” She blindly slid the phone back into the receiver. “You can go in.” Her eyes still not leaving his face, she pointed toward a door to the right of Reception. “Down that hallway and third door on the left.”

Oliver dipped his head politely, offering a parting smile and a small wink. “Thank you.”

He opened the door and made his way down a short, daylit hallway, pausing at the end to admire the city view through the floor-to-ceiling window.

Star City was spread out far below him. His home. He’d been away for three weeks, on a consulting job for the city of San Diego, and every day, every hour away from home had been excruciating. Southern California’s year-round sunshine couldn’t supply a fraction of the warmth and brightness he found here.

With a contented sigh, he turned toward the door, deciding at the last second to give a small warning knock. It was a courtesy instilled in him long ago.  

He opened the door slowly, popping his head through first to make sure he’d given appropriate notice. His eyes immediately fell on the woman seated at a 3-sided wrap around desk covered in scattered papers, a few keyboards, several monitors, and a laptop. Her back was to him.

Oliver cleared his throat. “Felicity Smoak?”

She whipped around instantly, meeting his gaze with wide eyes and parted lips.

“Hi. I’m you’re 11:00 appointment.”

Felicity stood up suddenly, a packet of papers that had been on her lap slipping to the floor unnoticed. “Oliver! You’re back!”

Just the sight of her set his heart beating fast, and he couldn’t resist her magnetic pull. In two large steps he was next to her, leaning down into her space but not quite touching. He watched the progress of her eyes as they traveled up his body, snagged momentarily on his lips, and then finally locked onto his. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she breathed.

He reached up to push her loose hair behind her ears, then brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles, savoring the fact that he was here, that he could finally touch her. “I missed you.”

She huffed out a shaky laugh, her eyes large and bright. “I missed you, too.”

Oliver felt himself returning to life under her warm gaze, as if he were a neglected plant that was finally getting water and sunlight. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath of her pear-scented air, and when he released it he felt weeks worth of tension draining away. “I really like your new office space, Ms. Smoak.”

Something sparked behind Felicity’s eyes and she wrapped first one arm around his neck, then the other, pulling him down and raising on her toes so that they were nose to nose. “That’s Mrs. Smoak Queen to you, Mr. Queen.”

Oliver felt the familiar wave of heat and pleasure rush through his body at her words, her touch. His slid his arms around her waist, gathering her close so she could feel his physical reaction to her. He put his lips to her ear. “Mr. Queen was my father.”

He felt her sharp intake of breath against his neck and in the way her body pressed further into his.

When her surprise passed, she slid down his body back onto her heels, keeping her lower body pressed against his but leaning back enough so she could pin him with a bold look. “Mr. Queen, are you using a line on me?”

Oliver’s eyes glinted as they shifted from her flashing blue eyes to her lips and then back again. He felt the smile tug at the corner of his lips. “Is it working?”

She was breathing shallowly, her eyes locked on his as she ran a hand slowly up his chest.  Her fingers curled around his neck, into his hair, and brushed over the shell of his ear until her hand came to rest on his cheek.

Oliver took a shuddery breath and felt his heart stutter as her eyes shifted from flirty to bottomless. He stood transfixed.

“Always.”

He looked back at her for a long moment, amazed that they were here. Amazed that, even damaged and cautious as they both had been when they’d met, they’d somehow recognized each other, trusted each other from the start. “Felicity Smoak.”

“Yeah?”

She watched as he started leaning down into her, his intention clear. “Felicity Smoak _Queen_ , I mean.”

She laughed breathily, clearly caught up in the anticipation of his slowly lowering mouth.

He paused when his lips were hovering just barely over hers. “I love you.”

She closed the distance between their mouths with a firm, forceful kiss, and then pulled back to look him in the eyes. “I love you too, Oliver Queen.” She nodded slightly and then wrapped her hands around his neck, closing her lips over his in a series of inviting kisses.

Oliver sank against her, surrendering to the pull of her lips and tongue before remembering himself enough to mumble his response into her mouth. “That’s Oliver _Smoak_ Queen to you.” He felt her laugh against his mouth as he hoisted her up and set her down on her new desk, ready to show his wife how much he’d missed her.


	2. Employee Retention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue to the last chapter. Blame msbeccieboo!!
> 
> I have indeed decided to continue this story as a WIP, though so far I'm thinking each chapter will be fairly standalone. The plan is for each story in this Future!verse to directly call back, in some way, to an Olicity scene. Just as the first chapter recalled the 1x03 first meeting, the next chapter should recall something about the 1x06 Olicity scene. 
> 
> But this chapter doesn't count because it's just an epilogue ;)

Christina Kim loved her new job. She’d been a fan of her new boss from afar for years, but in person, Felicity Smoak was not only beautiful, brilliant, and upbeat, she was kind and down to earth with a contagious enthusiasm and passion for her work. Christina was only a receptionist at Smoak Technologies, but Ms. Smoak made her feel like a vital part of the company’s innovative, life-changing mission.

And of course it didn’t hurt that because Ms. Smoak was married to Oliver Queen, former billionaire, former mayor, _Green Arrow_  Oliver Queen, it meant that she would more than likely meet him one day.

In the 2 weeks she’d had the job, though, she’d never yet met the man, and the truth was she was beginning to doubt whether or not she ever would. She was beginning to wonder whether the relationship between her boss and the former vigilante existed only for appearances.

The thing was, there was nothing about Ms. Smoak that suggested she _should_ be the wife of an insanely hot, deadly vigilante.

She was cheerful and vivacious, a polar opposite of the silent, dangerous Green Arrow who had hidden in the shadows for so many years. Even now that he operated unmasked, he stayed out of the spotlight as much as possible. Photographs of him as the Green Arrow were rare, and he never made public statements. Felicity Smoak, on the other hand, was generally forthright and direct, and she was always happy to give interviews about her company.

And where Felicity Smoak was genuinely, passionately dedicated to the idea of saving people through technological innovation, the vigilante had fought for justice through violence, and according to an invisible code.

Felicity Smoak was brilliant, but not mysterious.

She was funny, in a nerdy kind of way.

She was no _femme fatale._

She was a great person, but she was still just an _ordinary person._

In short, Christina didn’t understand the relationship, didn’t understand what the attraction could be on Oliver Queen’s side, and the more time she spent with her new boss, the more trouble she had believing that Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen could really be compatible. Despite all the newspaper and magazine articles she’d read.

And there were a lot of articles, a lot of paparazzi photos on a lot of gossip sites. But maybe that was the point. After all, when they’d first gotten engaged, he’d been living a double life, a very public life running for mayor, and he’d needed to play the part. While Felicity Smoak was an unconventional choice, it was beginning to seem more than likely that the engagement had been a publicity stunt.

The shooting was certainly not planned, certainly an unfortunate accident, but the breakup made a predictable sort of sense. Probably Oliver had planned to break up with her after winning the election, except he would have delayed doing so after the shooting, for the sake of appearances. And this only seemed confirmed by the fact that they’d broken up almost immediately after she’d regained her ability to walk.

Christina sighed. She didn’t like thinking unkind thoughts about Ms. Smoak, but her brain couldn’t help but try to make sense of it. And the only logical conclusion she could come to, over and over, was that their relationship was a cover.

It only made sense. Once he was under investigation, Oliver Queen again needed a prominent public image to distract from the suspicion that he was the Green Arrow; cue Felicity Smoak. And the fact that they’d gotten married only a few weeks after they’d gotten back together? It just seemed very convenient.

She had pretty much convinced herself that she was right, and that it was unlikely Oliver Queen would ever visit the offices of Smoak Tech, when on Wednesday morning she looked up to find him standing in front of her desk. Looming over her, a slight smile on his face, introducing himself under a pseudonym, and more unbelievably hot in person than she ever could have prepared herself for.

She was quite sure she’d made a fool of herself - _he’d winked at her_ \- but she didn’t care. Oliver Queen had laid eyes on her, she’d breathed the same air as him, and she felt as if she’d discovered evidence that unicorns do exist.

As soon as he disappeared through the door to Ms. Smoak’s office, she pulled out her phone.

 _Christina:_ he’s here

 _Melissa:_ who’s where?

 _Christina:_ Oliver Queen. He’s at my work.

There was a slight pause before the response came through.

 _Melissa:_ call me

Christina briefly debated the potential danger of being caught gossiping about her boss’s husband while at work, but she decided it was worth the risk, just this once.

Melissa picked up on the first ring. “Tell me everything.”

Christina did, giving her a second-by-second recap of her interaction with Oliver Queen, then going over what he was wearing, what his voice was like, and how different he looked in person versus on TV or in magazines. “I have never, ever seen a more beautiful man in my life, Melissa. His eyes are like...oh my god. And when he smiles, it’s like his whole face transforms. And his dimples, my godddd! And he winked at me! Yeah, I know I already told you that and I’m going to continue telling you that until the day I die, okay?”

“So were you afraid? I mean he’s the Green Arrow, Chris!”

“Yeah, I know, but I wasn’t afraid. I mean I was going to piss my pants, but it wasn’t because I was afraid of what he might do to me. I think I was more afraid of what I might do to him!”

She sighed and fell back against her chair, remembering the way his eyes had sparkled when he’d smiled at her. Suddenly she sat up, on alert.

“Mel, hold on I’m gonna put you down for a second.” She put the phone on her lap where it couldn’t be seen and listened for any sign that either Ms. Smoak or Oliver Queen were coming back out to Reception.

For a long moment she heard nothing, and she was about to put the phone back to her ear when she heard the noise again, more loudly this time. It sounded like... _oh_.

She listened as the sound grew louder, more insistent, more definite. Her ears grew red.

“ _Melissa_! Are you there?

“Yep, I’m still here Chris, what’s up? You okay?”

“Uhhh...I don’t know. Melissa, there are sounds coming from Ms. Smoak’s office, and they’re definitely having sex, okay? Definitely having sex. It sounds like she’s _reeeeally_ enjoying herself.”

She felt like a perv, sitting there hearing the sounds, but somehow sharing it with Melissa made her less uncomfortable.

“Oh, good for her!” Melissa was like that.

“Okay, but what do I do? Oh my god okay she definitely just screamed like really loud and...maybe they’re done now? Hold on, I’m gonna put you down again.”

Christina listened for an entire minute, and the office remained blessedly silent the whole time.

She lifted the phone to her ear. “I think they’re done. It’s been quiet for over a minute now. So I should probably get off the phone, and like, pretend like I’ve been very busy with work.”

“Okay, but you better call me when -”

“ _Ohhhh_ no.”

“What?”

“I don’t think they _are_ done after all.”

“No? What makes you say that?”

“That loud, rhythmic banging sound. Yep, That’s definitely a sex sound. Melissa, I can hear the sex. It’s really loud.”

“Okay, okay. What kind of banging are we talking about? Like a body pounding against a door kind of banging?”

“No, not quite like that. It’s more like...like hammering. Like a hard object, like...a desk. _Oh god, it’s definitely the desk!_ What do I do?”

Melissa laughed. “I don’t know, be happy for them I guess? I thought you said you liked Felicity Smoak?”

“I do, she’s awesome, but -”

“And don’t you think she deserves to be happy?”

“Yes, of course, but now there is _groaning,_ Melissa! Male and female voices _groaning and moaning!”_

“Chris, it’s just sex. It’s natural. And honestly, two incredibly hot people like that? I imagine it’s everything they can do not to climb each other in public.”

Christina shook her head, rolling her eyes. Melissa.

*

When the door leading to Felicity Smoak’s office did eventually open about 25 minutes later, Christina was composed.

Ms. Smoak stepped through the doorway first, followed by Oliver Queen. Both looked impeccable, and as Christina saw them together in person for the first time, she was shocked at how beautiful a couple they made. She was amazed she hadn’t seen it before.

“Christina, you met my husband earlier, though I believe it was under false pretenses. Oliver, this is Christina Kim, receptionist extraordinaire, who happens to be _very handy_ at screening phone calls, let me tell you. And making appointments and scheduling meetings, _thank god.”_

She turned her head to give her husband a private smile, and Christina saw that Oliver was gazing down at her with a look of such overwhelming affection that it made Christina swoon on her boss’s behalf. She had never, ever witnessed anything like it.

Ms. Smoak’s gaze caught his and she paused, her smile deepening as some secret knowledge seemed to pass between them.

His hand was on her shoulder and he drifted closer to her until his lips were at her ear, and he whispered something Christina couldn’t hear.

Ms. Smoak’s eyes closed at his words, and Christina suddenly felt very awkward, like she was intruding on a very intimate moment. Which was saying something, considering everything she’d recently overheard them doing. She was pretty sure they’d forgotten she was there.

After a moment, Ms. Smoak’s eyes drifted open and she sent her husband a quelling look, but she looked amused. She turned back to Christina.

“As I was saying, Oliver, this is Christina Kim. Christina, this is my husband Oliver Queen.”

Oliver stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, Christina. I’m sorry if I put you in a tough spot earlier.” He turned his head and suddenly all his attention was back on Ms. Smoak, though he was technically still speaking to her. “I wanted to surprise my wife.”

Felicity leaned her head toward his as he leaned down to hers, and they brushed noses. Christina was blushing down to her toes.

“Christina, we’re going out for lunch. I’ll be back in about an hour, okay?”

“Okay, Ms. Smoak. Nice to meet you, Mr. Queen. Have a good lunch!”

She watched them leave, Ms. Smoak leaning into her husband’s side, his arm wrapped around her tightly. Just before they reached the exit, she saw Oliver Queen’s hand drift down to land on her boss’s butt.

Christina smiled and shook her head. She had definitely miscalculated as far as the nature of their relationship was concerned. She was quite sure she had never seen two people more in love.

 

* * *

 

Felicity felt Oliver’s hand slide deliciously over her ass. She peered up at him, but didn’t bother to ask him to stop.

“You saw her face, right?”

Oliver’s words came completely out of the blue, but Felicity knew exactly what he was referring to. “Oh yeah. I saw. And if I want to keep her around as my receptionist - and I _do_ \- I’m going to have to do something nice to make it up to her.”

Oliver laughed. “If you think that’s necessary, fine. Though I think my idea will go a lot farther toward ensuring employee retention.”

They paused, waiting for the elevator, and Felicity leaned out of Oliver’s embrace so she could look him in the eyes. “And what’s that?”

A slow smile spread over Oliver’s face. “Sound-proofed walls.”

**Author's Note:**

> Y’all. I don’t know what this is, the image just came to me and I had to write it. And then.
> 
> AND THEN.
> 
> I had a slightly insane idea. 
> 
> Look, I'm almost certainly crazy, so someone please tell me to stop me from writing this before it’s too late.
> 
> (Or, you know, encourage me. I’m very susceptible to suggestion.) 
> 
> Okay, so this is a future fic that kinda parallels the first meeting in 1x03, right? Well…. _what if I added chapters, all in this same future universe, where each chapter parallels an Olicity interaction in the show?_ (Like, the next one will somehow call back to the 1x06 scene, etc.?)
> 
> What do you think? Madness? Boring? Or just crazy enough to be brilliant? (lol)? I'm already imagining a sprawling future storyline with the episode callbacks as "prompts," and omg it sounds so fun I kinda want to do it. Lemme know if there’d be any interest in reading such a thing.
> 
> (and regardless, please leave comments and kudos if you liked this! thank you!!)


End file.
